Method and apparatus for producing solid fatty food products



J. SCHAUB METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SOLID FATTY FOOD PRODUCTS Filed June 30, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 mp NM 3 w A 2 an a E A @J F l4 n A NF x 00M. d5 a Is iii f 2 9 3 u rFilJ! flrwiiii: J J I Q 8 5 5 a 08 2 z r 3 \N. l mu ww 0N r x 3 7 3N Jk f. m ON Jam PM AQN F IA! I 2 a 8 2 5 a g an IVE INVENTOR JACOB-SCHAUB ATTORNEY J. scHAuB 2,339,883

RODUCTS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 25, 1944-.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SOLID FATTY FOOD P Filed June so. 1939 INVENTOR JACOB SCHAUB ATTORNEY n lll vvlnz wgg w H Wm Jan. 25, 1944. J scHAuB 2,339,883

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SOLID FATTY FOOD PRODUCTS Filed June 30, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR JA 6049 SCHAUE Q ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 25, 1 944 I A A I I UNITED STATES PATENTQTOFFICE METHGD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SOLID FATTY FOOD PRODUCTS Jacob Schaub, Westfield, N. J., assignor, by mesne assignments, to The Best Foods, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application June so, 1939, Serial No. 282,019

' 9 Claims. (01. 99-122) This invention relates to the continuous prothe solidifying chamber taken on the line 1-1 of duction of a fatty food productsuch as margarine Figure 6.

- and more particularly relates to a process and In the drawings, numeral I designates the apparatus for continuously producing a high cooling chamber generally, which may be of any quality margarine. suitable form for super-cooling an emulsion while The batch process has been used heretofore in maintaining the super-cooled emulsion in a liquid making-margarine in order to make a high quality or semi-liquid state. In the form illustrated, this product having the proper texture, grain, and, cooling chamber l0 comprises a shell ll surtaste. This batch treatment involves chilling an rounded by cooling jacket I2 for the circulation emulsion of oil and water by means of an inof a refri rati medi m. a d externally nsuternally cooled chilling roll and scraping the late'd against heat abs rp i n y the insulating crystals of solidified emulsion from the roll. material l3. The cooling medium, which may be These crystals must then be kneaded, worked, brine or other suitable liquid or gaseous refrigersalted and blended and excessmoisture removed ant, may be introduced intov the space [4 between therefrom before the product is completed and the shell I an the J cke 12 thr u h the inlet made up into bars or cakes of the desired form.- l5 and withdrawn at the inlet end of the cooling amounting to several hours under the proper-coir The worked material must also be allowed periods-.1

.chamber (not shown). The emulsion, including of rest between certain of these treatments the-ingredients to be incorporated to form the viinished margarine, is introduced under pressure at the imet end of the cooling chamber II to the ditions of temperature and humidity in order to obtain a high quality product.

One object of my invention isto provide a". The otor ll p e ab y a es p m st of the process and apparatus for producing margarine space within the shell ll, leaving only a narrow rapidly in a continuous manner without sacrificopening through which the emulsion can be ading the high standard of quality in the product as. vanced t ou the 00011118 b Flat ,space-IS' between the shell ll and the rotor II.

produced by the batch process. scraper blades l8, or other suitable form of- It is a further object of my invention to proscrapers and/or agitators are preferably attached duce a finished margarine in a rapid, simple, and tothe rotor by the studs 19, so that the flow of continuous manner whereby the removal of water, chilled emulsion longitudinally through the space working, kneading, and periods of rest for the I6 is impeded as little as possible. The scrapers material are eliminated. 18 may be helical to assist the flow of liquid Anotherobject of my invention is to provide a hrough the Sp c l Th s o r m y be process and apparatus for super-cooling an emulrapidly rotated by some suitable means (not sion of oil and water while maintaining the supershown) at the inlet end of the cooling chamber. cooled materialin such a state that it will flow 5 A pump is preferably attached to the cooling readily and subsequently allowing the emulsion chamber at the outlet end and may be housed in to solidify pnder controlled conditions. the two pump housing halves. 2| bolted to- The invention will be best understood by refergether. as by means of thebolts 22. This pump ence to the apparatus constituting an embodihousing is preferably rigidlyattached to the outment of my invention illustrated in the accom- 1et end of the shell ll as by means .of a collar 23 panyingdrawings, in which p I and the bolts 24. Bearing It may be attached to Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view of one the outer end of the housing portion 2| by means end of a cooling chamber showing the means for of the bolts 26, to support a'shaft 21 which has a transferring the super-cooled. emulsion in a flowseries of rotary 'pump blades 28 fixed thereto by able condition to thesolidifying chamber. means of the key 29. --Bearing 25 is preferably- Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View of this provided with suitable packing glands 3|] and 3|. transferring apparatus taken on the line 2-2 of Shaft 21 may be rotated by means of the sprocket Figure 1 and illustrating one end of the solidifywheel 32 driven fromany suitable source of power ing chamber. (not shown).

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the grating illus- The blades 28 of the pump are preferably trated in section in Figure 2. formed integrally with the annular hub plate 280.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of one end of the and are inclined rearwardly with respect to the cooling'chamber, the transferring apparatus and direction of rotation thereof, as illustrated in the solidifying chamber. Figure 2. This annular hub plate 28a prefer- Figure 5 is an end elevation of the' solidifying ably is seated in a recessed portion 28b of the chamber taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4. housing section 2| and is provided with openings Figure 6 illustrates a vertical sectional view of 280. Some, of the emulsion may thu's' work an intermediate portion of the solidifying chamthrough the openings 280 to serve as a lubricant ber taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 4, and for the hub plate 28a and to relieve axial pressure Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view through thereon. The outer ends of blades 28 are also preferably curved rearwardly as shown at 33, and the central or hub portions of the blades and the hub plate 28a may be tapered towards the rotor I! as illustrated at 34 in Figure 1. These tapered hub portions 34 thus rotate about the stub shaft 35 fixed to one end of the rotor IT.

The pump is designed and arranged to withdraw the chilled emulsion from the space [6 near the outlet of thggooling chamber and to throw this super-cooled liquid radially outwardly so that it is forced through the grating 36. Grating 36 is preferably provided with a series of horizontal openings 31, having straight upper surfaces and shallow dish-shaped lower surfaces. These lower surfaces are also tapered downwardly, as illustrated at 38, to provide knife blades with the sharp edges directed towards the ends of the pump blades 28.

The material expelled by the pump through the grating 36 passes through a valve 39 directly into a solidifying chamber 40. Under ordinary operating conditions the valve '39 will be maintained in the position illustrated in Figure 1. If desired, however, the three-way rotary portion 4| of the valve 39 may be turned to by-pass the material through the pipe 42 instead of directing it into the solidifying chamber 40. The purpose of this by-pass valve will be described hereinafter.

The solidifying chamber is preferably of uniform cross section throughout the major portion of its length and is tapered at the inlet end 43 to provide an inlet portion having a cross section increasing uniformly in size from the valve 39 to the main portion of the solidifying chamber' 40. The tapered end 43 of solidifying chamber 40 may be removably connected to valve 39 by means of the collar 44. At its outlet end,

the solidifying chamber 40 is preferably provided with a tapered outlet ending in the extruding nozzle or template 45 to shape the margarine into a a solidifying point of 0., for example, the liquid emulsion is preferably super-cooled to a temperature of about 5 C., i. e., a temperature about 20 below its hardening point. During passage of this super-cooled material through the cooling chamber I0 it is maintained in a fiowable condition by the constant agitation of the blades l8.

The pump blades 28 are rotated during this time, preferably being driven by a source of power independent of the drive for the rotor i1, through the sprocket wheel 32. The rotation of the pump blades 28 serves to withdraw the chilled emulsion from the space l6 and thus to effectively decrease back pressure on the material fed into the cooling chamber III. In fact,

40 may be provided with an inner shell .49 and an outer jacket so that a temperature controlling medium may be circulated through the space therebetween. The cooling or heating medium may be introduced, for example, at 5| and withdrawn at 52, the several sections of the jacket being connected in series by means of the pipes 53.

At a point preferably fairly close to the inlet 43 of the solidifying chamber 40, a screen 54 may be provided clamped between two of the flanges space [6 at the inlet end of the cooling chamber I0. During the passage of the emulsion through a the cooling chamber In, the emulsion is forced longitudinally of the chamber in a thin layer through the space l6 and is constantly agitated by rotation of the rotor l1 carrying the scraper blades l8. A chilling medium is circulated through the space l4 and preferably maintains the space l6 ata temperature well below the solidifying point of the emulsion being chilled. For making margarine with an emulsion having this pump serves as a booster whereby the original pressure under which the emulsion is introduced into the cooling chamber may be substantially lessened. The super-cooled liquid emulsion, as it is withdrawn from the outlet end of the cooling chamber ID by the pump, is immediately thrown radially outward and is kept in motion in the pump so that it is not afforded an opportunity to solidify. The agitation is continued and, in fact, preferably increased by the blades 28, as compared with the agitating effected by the blades l8 so that any solid particles which have formed are more or less broken up. As this material reaches the outer edge of the blades 28, it is forced under pressure through the grating 36, the valve 39, and directly into the solidifying chamber 40.

When the apparatus is first started however, the first of the emulsion to come through may not be sufficiently super-cooled or will not be in a suitable state for delivery to the solidifying chamber. This material may be by-passed through the pipe 42 into a separate container by a proper adjustment of the valve 39, and as soon as the consistency of the material coming out of the pipe 42 is satisfactory, valve 39 may be turned to, deliver the super-cooled'emulslon to the solidifying chamber 40.

Any lumps or solid particles which may have been formed in the material during passage through the cooling chamber and which have not been broken by the agitation are broken up as they pass through the grating 36. The flow of super-cooled emulsion into the tapered section 43 of the solidifying chamber 40 gradually decreases in velocity and the emulsion becomes solidified. I prefer to employ the screen 54 in the solidifying chamber 40- to develop a slight back pressure in the solidifying chamber and thus ensure the chamber being completely filled with the solidified material. If some means of this nature is not provided, the super-cooled emulsion is very apt to flow into the solidifying chamber in overlapping layers and form distinct strata or folds which will be readily apparent after the material has been extruded from the nozzle 45 at the outer end of the solidifying chamber. Whatever the explanation for the op eration of the screen may be, I have found that the use of a screen, in approximately the position illustrated, serves to eliminate satisfactorily this stratification of the product.

To make the passage of the solidified product through the chamber 40 easier, this chamber is preferably jacketed so that warm water at a temperature, for example, of 32 C. may be circulated to partially melt the solidified product next to the shell 49 and thus reduce frictional contact therewith. The product will thus be continuously extruded through the template I! in the form of a bar which may be cut into blocks of the desired size and shape for packaging. A cutting and wrapping apparatus may be attached directli to the outlet end of the solidifying chamber, if desired.

It will be noted that the emulsion, after coming under the influence of the cooling medium, is constantly agitated until it is introduced into the solidifying chamber 40. The super-cooled flowable emulsion is thus introduced into the tapered inlet 43 in a homogeneous condition and solidifies quickly after the agitation is stopped. A uniform fine grained texture is thereby obtained with all of the water and other ingredients uniformly distributed throughout the mass.

The agitation of the material until it flows into the solidifying chamber is very important, not only for the production of a smooth high quality product, but also in preventing clogging of the apparatus. If a super-cooled emulsion of this nature is not constantly and thoroughly agitated, solidification is apt to occur at some point prior to the introduction of the material into the solidifying chamber with a consequent clogging of the whole system. Should the system become clogged in this manner, it would be necessary to clean out the whole apparatus before starting operations again.

In addition to the economies in space, equipment, and time made possible by my invention, the production of margarine is also placed on a much more sanitary basis inasmuch as the product is completely enclosed in the apparatus until it emerges in finished form. Enclosed automatic cutting and packaging apparatus may be readily employed so that the product emerges from the apparatus in packaged form.

It will be apparent that other forms of cooling chambers may be employed in which the ratio of' cooling surface to volume of liquid being chilled is sufficiently high to permit rapid cooling. It is highly desirable to provide a cooling chamber in which the passage for liquid has as few obstructions as possible, in order to minimize solidification of the liquid in the cooling chamber. The. use of the extrusion nozzle is not essential to the operation of the apparatus, and

other forms and shapes of hardening chambers 1 may be employed provided the super-cooled liquid is allowed to solidify in a quiet unag'itated state.

The pump at the outlet end of the cooling chamber serves to reduce the pressure on the liquid within the cooling chamber. This pressure may be regulated by correlating the speed of rotation of this pump with the pressure at which liquid is fed into the cooling chamber. The apparatus described i suitable for making several different fatty food products such as margarine, shortening, etc., and it may be desirable to employ different pressures within the cooling chamber with different products.

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intentiong'in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

Iclaim:

1. Apparatus for producing a solid fatty product comprising means for cooling a liquid below its solidifying point while maintaining the cooled liquid in a fiowable condition, a solidifying chamber for receiving the cooled liquid, and means for forcibly withdrawing said cooled liquid from said cooling means, agitating the liquid and introducing it immediately in a flowable condition into said solidifying chamber.

2. Apparatus for producing a solid fatty product comprising means for cooling 2. liquid below its solidifying point while maintaining the cooled liquid in a fiowable condition, a solidifying chamber for receiving the cooled liquid, and a pump for withdrawing the cooled liquid from said cooling means, agitating the liquid to break up lumps therein and forcing it directly into said solidifying chamber.

3. Apparatus for producing a solid fatty product comprising-means for cooling a liquid below its solidifying point while maintaining the cooled liquid in a fiowable condition, a solidifying chamber for receiving the cooled liquid. and a centrifugal pump for withdrawing and agitating the cooled liquid from said cooling means and forcing it into said solidifying chamber.

4. Apparatus for producing a solid fatty product comprising means for cooling a liquid below its solidifying point while maintaining the cooled liquid in a fiowable condition, her for receiving the cooled liquid, a grating, and a pump for withdrawing cooled liquid from the cooling means and forcing it through said grating into said solidifying chamber. Y

5. Apparatus for producing continuously a hardened fatt food product comprising a cooling chamber having a relatively large ratio of cooling surface to volume of the cooling chamber, means therein for agitating liquid being cooled to maintain said liquid in a flowable condition, ing chamber, and means for withdrawing cooled liquid continuously from the cooling chamber while maintaining said cooled liquid in a flowable condition and reducing lumps therein b agitation said withdrawing means also delivering the cooled liquid immediately to the solidifying chamber.

6. Apparatus as defined in-claim 5 in which the withdrawing means comprises an independently driven centrifugal pump.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 in which the withdrawing means comprises a pump having its suction side adjacent the outlet end of the cooling chamber.

JACOB BCHAUB.

a solidifying chama solidify- 1 

